From Independence to Freedom....

It's that time of the year again...when some of us, at least, are brought face to face with our nationality and whether or not it means anything beyond a stamp on your passport (and now racist attacks in Oz...) And when, for even fewer of us, the words Jai Hind have a poignant note to them. Or may be there I'm being obscenely hopeful considering i now realise that an unfortunate number of us don't even remember the lyrics of our national anthem let's not even spare a though for the author of it...!! (jusy for reference it's that song they played before they started the movie you went to watch.)

But then again what's the point of knowing all that? It's not like it's of any practical importance in today's world....

And I know it’s probably a cliché to write a post about independence on I-Day, but hey, we’re all allowed to be a little stereotypical! After all, 62 years ago today India claimed independence for itself and its people and at least then it was something to celebrate about. Freedom, however, was another matter....

I think it was Bhagat Singh who’d said the words I’d read as a young kid in school that very poignantly said (pls try a little to get this cos the words pretty much lose their effect in any language apart from hindi):

“Shaheedon ki chitaon par lagenge har baras mele,

Watan par mar mit walon ka yahi baaki nishan hoga....”

It was true then and it is true today. Brave, I would say is the man who chooses to die for his country despite knowing this.

But today, as very often before, I wonder, what is the meaning of patriotism in this age of independence? (Annual Independence Day quiz!!) Today it is the honour or otherwise of the select few we call the security forces to die for our country. And that can hardly be presumed to mean that we all sign up for it! So what do I have to do today to show my love for my motherland? Or may be it’s a question of who I have to be....?

But today.... I find myself choosing not to wonder....today i want to be a cliche. I only want to step back and salute the Brave and be devoutly thankful to those who died so that I may get the chance to live this day. Today, irrespective of what it means to be one, I want to be proud to be an Indian. And today, my hopes, dreams and prayers for India resound in Tagore’s words...

“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high,

Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake....”

CATCH 22!!

It was a big day for PB. The proverbial bird was finally ready to fly the cage....To join the federations of Big Flying Birds; to chase its dreams; to soar!!

And it would....

Except there's this big board hanging outside its cage severely stating 'No Flying, You Stupid Bird,Till You Get Experience'

And the confused bird scratches its downy head, wondering___'what the hell do i do now???'

Because what the experience-seekers are unwilling to grant is that to get flying experience you need to fly. But if he doesn't get experience how will he ever fly??

So poor PB shakes his head in confusion and watches the others fly, hoping somebody will hover somewhere near him for long enough so he can squawk loudly and ask for help.

When they said 'fly, the sky is your land' Nobody ever mentioned the damn net you've to cut through or it'll cut through you!!!

I wonder what Jonathan L. Seagull would have told PB....

Does anybody know?

And Thus The Swine Flew....

No prizes for guessing what the latest Indian obsession is....all hail the swine of all flus!!

I don't know about the rest of the country but our part of it is grinding to a bloody halt thanks to the damn virus! Schools, colleges, markets___ you name it and they've brought their shutters down. We live in constant fear of contracting the virus that in our heads has become deadlier than the HIV or the Hepatitis virus, no matter where we are. The damn thing is stalking us like the rod of divine redemption!!

But, of course, every cloud has a silver lining. If nothing else the media has found an indefatigable mine of news for a long while to come___ cursing the virus, pitying the people, cursing the administration, hailing the brave____ and so the see-saw shall dip and sway all the way to the bank. No matter if the doctors and those in the know shout themselves hoarse trying to tell us to calm down we're not listening. After all, look what the papers say!! Only the headline matters. Who cares if of the thousands being tested only a few actually test positive?! {People, the virus will spread, it's what viruses do!!}

I'm not saying the virus is not a threat but it is far from incurable and thus hardly qualifies as an epidemic! It makes one wonder how real the "epidemic", in fact, is and how much of it is media creation? Unfortunately there are too many only too happy to jump on to the bandwagon.... :-/

What happened to the days of responsible journalism, does anybody know?

Civilization n all that...

Am beginning to think this whole civilization thing is a little warped.... you know what i mean? OK may be not. Thing is who decides what civilization means? I mean, whose idea of civilization are we talking about?

Way back in 44 B.C. Julius Caesar looked at the British and called them heathens, then the British looked at us and called us heathens and decided to show us how it's done n now we think (along with the rest of the world) that we're the authorities so we go around poking around under random rocks to dig up other 'heathens to be reformed'.

And then we find them (Eureka!) and we poke and prod them till they become civilized! So we teach them to do things our way cos we know how it's to be done, y'know? And we feel so darned proud of ourselves!

But the strange bit is they were managing just fine without our lesson on table manners, man! They've been doing things their way for centuries and managing quite well, thank you very much! Who wants to be integrated into the damn society anyway?!

Don't get me wrong, i think we're great n all that but how about taking the opinion of the people you're trying to reform, huh? You almost can't blame them for being cannibals...best way to do away with unwanted visitors, I think.... ;)

{The pic above is a Naga tribal hut.}

SOS!!!

Save MY Soul rather.....

I'm just going to keep this short does anybody out there know of any publishing houses who're willing to take on interns? I'm technically not qualified to intern with one (since i'm a soon-to-be LAW grauate) but would you nonetheless know of one i could apply to? [NOT in the capacity of lawyer please note]

I want to learn whatever i can from one!!

If you do please post your replies here and if i don't know you let me know how i can get in touch with you (we'll work out the details).

Thanks a lot!!

Guns of Irony

Thought evoking stuff, poetry (or at least it is when you manage to understand it). For instance I, today came across one on a writer’s site I’m a member of and it gave me something to chew over.....

Have you ever wondered about our attitude as a society towards guns?

We live in a civilization that is a by-product of centuries of violence. Our weapons have evolved to a level of very pleasing sophistication indeed and we’ve in fact become so fond of them that today if I had to buy a gift for my 5 yr-old nephew I’d just run along to the nearest toy store, buy this funky looking gun, gift wrap it, smile and say “happy birthday!” (LOL! What. An. Irony.)

He looks at it in wide-eyed wonder, presses the trigger. It’s all metallic hue and flashing lights, his latest toy. And beaming, I pat myself on the back and think myself so clever as I watch the little scamp pointing the gun at random people__ threatening them, irritating them, using it to draw attention, to get his way. Behold World, another child has discovered a gun! He knows what it stands for and how to use it before he’s even learnt to use a pen. What a proud moment!

Years from now he’ll be sitting with his friends discussing the latest addition to the world’s arsenal__ its speed and accuracy, without once sparing a thought for the fact that it’s a Weapon. Meant To Kill. A Living Being.

Sigh... on with the global warming I say. It’s a much better way to die.

Who was here first?

Had a conversation with a friend today about a topic i feel very strongly about___ the environment.

i was bleating on about how our actions are causing global warming etc etc when she very calmly informed me that they, actually, were not. i faltered in my disapproving speech n stared at her dumbfounded. she told me that records proved that the climate of the earth changed every million years or so n that would continye to happen no matter what man did or did not do. it pissed me off to realise that she was saying actually made sense. (whoa! my high horse just bucked!!)

so i put my head back in the sand n thought abt it. n what i figure is that irrespective of whether or not the earth will drown tomo (whether in water or waste remains to b seen :/) we've got to take responsibility for our actions!

we might nt be the sole reason why the earth is dying but we're a major part of it. for ages we've taken from the planet without a thought to repaying til we've screwed up the balance. we've taken what v can not (or at least will not bother to) recreate. and now nature's in the driver's seat a manically malicious grin on her face dragging a bewildered man along for the ride, who's still wonderin abt everythin from

a) why it isn't raining

b) why it's so frigging hot to

c) why tsunamis?!!

It's like cigarettes may not be the sole cause of cancer but they're certainly a predominant one. we're the cigarettes.

i mean the earth was here before us guys and we've got to respect that. i'm not saying make a huge n flashy statement, but the little things count too, u know.

so the next time u mistake the earth for a huge dustbin__ don't. walk when u can, turn off the tap n turn out that light. save, save, save and care___ just a li'l bit. it's our planet guys__ may be we can save it from dyin.

huff!! ok, tirade over. y'all can stop staring now....